5 reasons Washington makes the College Football Playoff

The Washington Huskies went 10-3 in 2017, missing out on a shot at the Pac-12 Championship and the College Football Playoff but here’s why 2018 will be different.

Washington is coming off of back to back double-digit win seasons for the first time since 1990 and 1991. Entering his fifth season as head coach, Chris Petersen has compiled a 37-17 record and re-established the program as not just a Pac-12, but a national power.

Washington has had 10 players drafted in the last two NFL Drafts, including six in the first two rounds, but they now have the depth and talent to reload and bring back experienced underclassmen and upperclassmen season after season.

The Huskies won the Pac-12 North in 2016, then beat Colorado to take the conference title, and made the College Football Playoff as the No. 4 seed. After missing out not just the College Football Playoff, but also a shot at the Pac-12 Championship last season, Washington still has the taste of the playoff from 2016 in their mouths and now the added motivation of falling short in 2017.

The team that Washington brings back is not only deep and talented but unlike most of the traditional Pac-12 powers, they won’t just score points, but they’ll have a stout defense that matches up with any team or conference in the nation at all three levels. They’ve had a top-10 scoring defense the last two years and bring back eight starters and droves of experience behind them.

The season starts with huge neutral site game against No. 9 Auburn, in Atlanta then they host North Dakota before jumping into the conference schedule with a trip to Utah in Week 3. Here are the five reasons they’ll be able to navigate the upcoming season and return to the 2019 College Football Playoff.